Community and Education

Process: A Day Made Better

The A Day Made Better initiative was led internally by our External Relations department and our Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Community Affairs group, with assistance from our Merchandising, Logistics, Supply Chain, Inventory Management, Legal, Retail and ImPress functions.

In all, over 4,500 associates were enlisted to ensure that we had ample resources to execute 1,000 events almost simultaneously. A comprehensive manual was prepared to help associates support A Day Made Better each step of the way.

To create and implement the program, leaders from the External Relations and Community Affairs group brought together many of the internal stakeholders that engage with educational institutions to brainstorm on how we could most effectively engage in education. This internal group determined that teachers are natural leaders in classrooms and therefore are leaders in the community. Despite this leadership role, the group felt that teachers did not receive the recognition and resources they deserve.

After this determination, the External Relations and Community Affairs formed a team to take the lead on identifying how the company could bring public attention to the everyday realities that teachers face. With assistance from an already established relationship with Adopt-A-Classroom, the group identified that teachers were overburdened by having to purchase school supplies with their own money and created the concept of A Day Made Better. This team conducted research with teachers to identify the items they needed most. We then conducted pilot programs to ensure that the donated items were welcomed and useful and that the element of surprise would create a memorable event for the teachers and students.

Adopt-A-Classroom initiated contact with the principals to nominate teachers. Virtually every OfficeMax retail store, distribution center and call center was matched with a school, as was corporate headquarters.